Shadow Games

Shadow. That's the name of one of my three cats. He isn't all black, but is mostly covered in black fur. He actually got his name thanks to chasing his shadow and one time as a small kitten, jumping AT the wall to catch it. Only he got his bell rung.

But this isn't about Shadow, the kitty. This is about shadows in the hallway near my children's bedrooms.

Last week, after the kids were all in bed, and were INDEED sleeping, I went down stairs to watch some television and hang out with my husband for a while before it was time to go to bed ourselves.

Before finally deciding it was time to get some z's, I had to make a trip upstairs to take my nightly medication and use the uh... little lady's room.

I'd just gotten to the landing and then the first couple of steps, when I peered up, where the door to the basement was only partially open. And I don't know why, seeing as usually, I am looking DOWN at the steps (bad eye, so cautious).

Suddenly, I catch a glimpse of what appeared to be "shadow feet" moving along the underneath of my door (it's set a bit too high up in to the frame, so you can see underneath the door fairly well).

With the door partway open, I noticed the feet, and even some "shadow legs" moving somewhat steadfast past on the wall. It's as if someone had been coming out of my son's room, in a quick-walking manner. The bathroom light was on. If it weren't for it being so, I can guarantee that I would never have been none the wiser.

The feet made NO noise whatsoever. No breeze was felt. Just the sight of shadows.

No, I wasn't scared. Surprised, yes. But not frightened. I still got up the stairs, went about my business and then back down to go to bed.

At some point, I am hoping to buy a digital recorder and at first just place it up in the attic, seeing as I always feel uneasy up there. Even in the daytime. I want to see what kinds of things I could maybe pick up.

Then, eventually, I'd life to do an EVP session up there, in my son's room, and in the family area of the basement.

Am I scared? No. Nervous? Yes. Because I am a tad bit worried in regards to what type of answers or responses I may end up getting. But my son deserves to be able to sleep in his room at night without worrying.

Shadows, including an arm and a hand, as well as a full-body shadow has been claimed to be seen at night, including by my oldest (who is very matter-of-fact and doesn't take to playing things up).

I have had a child-cousin witness the doorknob of the attic door (with it being locked up via padlocking) turn and shake. As did one of my son's friends.

Also, my son's room remains MUCH colder than any other area of the house. And that includes the basement. Even in the summertime, it is relatively noticeable.

My husband and I have both in the past came face-to-face with either a shadow person, or a shadow fog/mist. And on both occasions, in OUR bedroom, late at night.

Someone... or something is trying REALLY hard to get noticed. For what reason, I have not a clue. Plus, the cousin in question has seen a shadow figure in the attic, according to her (again, not one to lie or embellish). And she described what my son has seen in the past.

Been A While!... Update.

First of all, I hope everyone had a great New Years, Christmas and Thanksgiving. It's been QUITE a while since I laid a post down in here.

Here's a quick and simple update...

Yes, I still see the boy. Not always at the base of my stair area leading to and from my basement. I still also sometimes see the ghost cat that is eerily similar to my living cat in appearance.

My son's room is still icy cold, no matter what we do to ensure that no cold drafts are coming from the base of the attic door. And speaking of the attic, I STILL hate the damn area.

I'm thinking that it is indeed time to buckle down and buy that digital recorder. First, only to record the attic area to see what sounds transpire overnight with no one up there. Then try an EVP session with asking questions at a later date.

Sometimes, when I am alone, I don't always "feel" alone. And every so often, I hear laughing, a single word from out of the blue, or even my name being called out.

The other day, my son was in my room, helping to fold some laundry. I left for a brief moment. And again, according to him, of its own volition, the touch lamp went up a notch to the highest level. And knowing my son, being he has had one too many scary run ins, he wasn't doing it himself or trying to pull my leg. The look in his eyes and on his face told me that he witnessed it and was NOT the one that caused the lamp to turn up another light level.

Hopefully, I can get back in here and blog again soon. Cemetery visiting season is coming soon. And no telling what can happen out there. Especially if I take my one girl that seems to be sensitive.

Two Experiences & A Dream (Part I)

It's bad enough when you have your own REAL LIFE problems with having odd things happening within the walls of your home. But what about when they start to invade your dreams? Especially after two of your family members, yourself included, has occurrences in the same week, on different days?

The other morning, my oldest was up before myself and her siblings. Dad was already at work for his early morning shift at the store. The oldest has to be up by ten til seven to get ready for school.

On Wednesday, after I stepped in to the kitchen, she told me she had seen "someone" just a few minutes before I came up the stairs from the basement area, where my bedroom is.

I'd asked her to describe the person. She said that it was a male. No skin color noted to me yet (she's away with her bio-dad), and that he wore an "army suit" of camouflage. Depending on the actual colors of the suit, it may be military. Or it may be a hunter.

She said it only lasted a couple of seconds, and that she had seen him head on and he just looked at her, then vanished in to the air before her eyes.

I'd not told her, but I had an experience a couple days prior. But it was late afternoon and in the kitchen.

As I was minding my own business, and after shutting the fridge door, I had turned towards the stove. The blinds that cover the two kitchen windows were opened. One partially, which looks to the main street. The other, fully, and it looks to the neighbor next door.

Out of the corner of my right eye, I had a glimpse of what appeared to be someone gawking at me through the window facing the street. It was a shadow type head. No face to recognize. And when I'd turned to get a full view, the head darted back as if to not get caught.

I'd sensed it was a man. And if someone was to do that, then the LIVE person would have to do a "Spiderman" crawl up the side of my house and hang on for dear life to do what I had seen transpire.

It's just too strange. The two of us having these experiences like this can be a bit overwhelming. Emotionally. And psychologically.

But last night's dream I think sent me over the edge.

I'd gone to bed about midnight. One of those rare times that I wasn't THAT sleepy until then. I got in and nestled into the covers as usual and drifted off.

But then, everything went dark. A dark that I normally do not associate with. When I was finally able to get my eyes to adjust to the darkness before me, I felt the bitter cold of the air surrounding me.

It was at this point that I felt like I was in my own home. But not. It's as if I was in another realm. Another reality. Like an out-of-body type of thing was happening to me. Everything was so real.

That's when I felt the hand....

This Blog's Been Haunting me..And A Blog Hop

As of late, I haven't had any what I would call TRUE paranormal experiences. So I can't really write from MY perspective of close encounters or experiences. And if that is at times the case, I at times will post a video or an article about a Paranormal topic, and then give my thoughts, views and opinions.

When I do the latter, it can often times be time consuming. And after not really getting any feedback I felt it was time to stop writing on here for a while. And I stuck to my guns in that regard.

And in doing so, I hope that with the lengthy hiatus, I have managed to give my readers a good break, along with myself. So I'm looking to start back up writing on this page. Either of my own happenings or of paranormal things that I find of interest to talk about.

And feel free to join me over at the Weekend Wander over at For The Love Of Blogs as well.



It's a wonderful community of bloggers from all kinds of spectrums of writing.

Have a wonderful weekend, and I'll be writing again in here VERY soon!

"My Ghost Story" on Biography Channel

I honestly cannot say enough about this TV series! I'm in love with "My Ghost Story" on the Bio Channel.

The show has ordinary, everyday people come on and tell their story of their ghostly encounters. And they have evidence to show as well to back up their claims.

The following story (first one in the video) is situated in Virginia, where I reside. And it involves Civil War history, which I enjoy as well.



The woman's story of loss makes me feel "better" in regards to the loss of my baby in 2003, where it had died in about the tenth to twelfth week of gestation. And I am more sire now, thanks to this story that indeed, my child IS watching over his little sister (read about OBE's HERE and my firsthand experience of having an OBE of my own.

Yes I was born and bred in California. But I have never really traveled this far down south in California. I lived in the East San Fransisco Bay Area until my mid-teens.

Over the years, I'd heard many times the stories in regards to the Whaley House in San Diego, California. And to this day, I do wish I had been able to visit this beautiful, but creepy home.



"My Ghost Story" airs on Saturday's at 10:00 PM/9:00 PM on Biography Channel.

Alien and UFO Sightings. They ARE Real. The Vatican Says So.

Like I had once stated before on a post here at ParanorMel, I do believe that there is intelligent life other than ourselves out in the universe. And that to think otherwise, personally is absurd and rather egotistical of us as a human species.

To read the post, and view the videos within it, please click on More Stars, ET, And Creationists, Oh My!.

Now the Vatican has stepped up and have made a major announcement. That there REALLY are aliens from other planets, and that they are not just conjured up stories of crazies and those with mental illness.

Monsignor Corrado Balducci has stated that indeed UFO's are NOT a figment of people's imaginations. And that contact with Extraterrestrials should NOT be considered "demonic" and that these encounters should be 'carefully' studied.

To read the article, CLICK HERE.

Not that I feel that I "need" the Vatican's "permission" to believe, or not to believe, but I am actually GLAD that a church group that I am no longer a member of or have "faith" in (more for it's "rules" and views on topics, not the people themselves who are in the congregation) has stood up and had the "balls" to actually ADMIT that they recognize that there IS life out in the universe among us, and that we are not "alone" in the galaxies.

Do I believe in alien abductions? Not really. But I do believe that they come to our world and study us from above. And one time on the way home to our old place out in the country, as my husband was driving down a dark, windy road that we have traveled countless times before that night, I had seen an "unusual looking" aircraft.

This "aircraft" had some strange lighting on it, unlike the lights of a basic commercial or private plane. And the way it maneuvered was extremely odd. It wasn't staying straight. It kind of jetted to a side and back in to it's original place. Then, like it had a jet pack on its back, took off.

To this day, I still cannot for certain say that it was an ordinary, everyday airplane. I saw "something" flying over the farm fields that night. And I firmly feel that it was alien in origin.

What are your thoughts on UFO's, aliens, abductions and life on other planets (both within and outside of our galaxy)?

Take My *ADVICE* When It Comes To Dealing With "Gifted" Children.

Yesterday, I had posted about what happened at the Wendy's restaurant the other night in regards to my six-year-old daughter. To read it, CLICK HERE.

After reading a couple of the comments that others had posted and after talking to my stepmother, I decided to talk about how I handle the kids and their "gifts". I know that at least two of them "see" things. where as one (my oldest daughter who is eleven) primarily only hears things.

In the space of about the last six years, between two very different homes, one being out in the country, living in a single wide trailer that is as old as ME, and where we are living now, which is a brick home with a full, finished basement and a full attic, and is NOT sitting on it's original property site, many things have transpired paranormally speaking.

As most people who regularly read my blog know, my first experience with any kind of ghostly activity was at the age of eight. From there, it just took off. And for years, I never said anything to anyone. That is until my father told me of some "weird things" he had happen, starting after my mother's passing in 1989. But she too had some creepy stuff in that home in Fremont happen as well when she was alive.

Thanks to my knowledge and better understanding of why ghosts "hang around" and spirits make their presences known, I can honestly tell my three children I understand their fears and DO believe them when they say that they have heard something "walking", "being dragged", "being played with", "see someone".

Although, the number one thing I am STILL trying to make them realize (especially my son) is that we cannot tell EVERYONE who enters our home. Not even family. That there is a time and a place. And not everyone is accepting of what we believe and know, or experience.

When my youngest came up to me the other night, on her way to bed, she said that she'd seen a "little boy staring at me from the bathroom", which had its door ajar. She claimed that the boy was "peeking around the corner" of the door at her.

Her eyes were wide as silver dollars. I immediately told her that it's okay and that he won't hurt her. And I let her know I too have seen him before and that "he just wanted to see what you (as in her) were doing". Which of course was getting in to bed.

One of the primary things to remember if your child suddenly states that they "see someone" that you cannot see yourself is to NEVER "blow them off" or discount what they are telling you. The more you are willing to open yourself up to the *possibility* that indeed your child can see things that maybe you cannot, the better you can support and even help them understand what THEY are going through.

But you must also teach them proper timing with "blurting out" about having an experience. Like telling them to not tell LITTLE children, to pick the friends you WANT TO have know about their gift wisely (I'd lost many a friend thanks to telling those that just didn't understand or believe me...and instead believed I was a nutcase), and to do their best to self-discern what very well is a Paranormal experience and what may be the house settling.

There is good to come for your child who may possess this ability. I believe it builds self-confidence, builds their self-esteem, helps them to be more in tune with their bodies and minds, and it hones their intuitive skills.

But it will NOT happen unless you as their parent/guardian help them along the way in a positive direction. And when parents who are "afraid" of what their kids can do start telling the child it's just their imagination and get on them for "telling tales" is doing the child a great disservice to them as an individual and to the Psychic/Sensitive/Medium Community.

Many of us "Sensitives" get a bad wrap as it is, thanks to the TRUE FRAUDS (who shall remain nameless of who I think are shams). To basically call a child "too imaginative" or tell them to "stop imagining up such things" who can HONESTLY see/hear/feel things that are beyond the realm of flesh, blood and bone, it makes them less likely to want to use their gift for GOOD and to even want to maintain it.

My Daughter Sees Dead People!

Last night was just really strange. We took the kids out to Wendy's to eat. And it was seemingly a "normal" evening out, for times that we go out, that is.

As we stood in line to get our order taken, Skyler, who is my youngest of three kids, at the cute age of six years old, said something that just completely took me by surprise.

"Mama is that man dead?" is what came out her mouth as she viewed a picture of the Wendy's franchise's Founder, Dave Thomas from the back hall, near the restrooms.

Of course, I answered that yes he was deceased. The she proceeded to ask me WHY he "die-ded".

This is NOT the first time that my child has shown me evidence of possessing a gift of "sensitivity" and "seeing". It has happened at the Cemetery where some of my husband's family is also buried.

The more I witness her being "drawn" to certain things like graves and pictures of dead people, the more I believe she is intuitive to another realm of being.

And I don't know how she does it, but many times in the Cemetery, she "hones in" on to grave sites that are of CHILDREN. She can barely read! How can she just "pick up" where to go?

Yes, I believe she has a gift that has been passed down from the females on my side through the generations. But her "intuitions" are clearly more prominent than mine have ever proven to be.

My Old Hometown Haunts

...And not just as in where I used to roam when I lived in the area. These are some of the most popular areas of Fremont, California that are supposedly haunted.

The following sites that I am doing to list are from the website Strange USA

One area being Niles Canyon. Whenever I would ride through the area with my parents as a child, I never felt "easy" as we went down the road. I never could explain my feelings of dread...

When you go down The Canyon road you will find an off ramp that will lead you down to a creek... That is if you can drive all the way down the road... As you go down the road you begin to hear knocking and at about half way down the road you will start to hear a small boy laughing... Story tells that a young boy was killed in the basement of a cottage at the end of the road...he was found by his parents hanging from the rafters, when his parents called the cops they told them that there was no body in the house but mass amounts of blood washing up at the creek banks... Legend tells that if you make it down the canyon you can still see blood washing up on the creek banks and hear a young boy laughing...No Trespassing

Where I used to live was a part of the Mission area. In fact, I attended Mission San Jose High School back in the day....

Built in the late 1700`s, Mission San Jose has had a lot of curious history. A fire destroyed the original Mission, and the 1906 earthquake leveled the old church. Both have been rebuilt, the church about 12 years ago and the mission in the 1800`s. There are cold spots and mists in the mission itself, uncanny feelings and mists in the courtyard by the fountain. An old cemetery adjacent to the church is the site of many disturbances, including unexplained whispers and crying (several Fremont pioneers are buried here, as well as countless Natives). Also in the church itself, where there are graves in the floor in the Sanctuary and in front of the altar. Severe cold spits are felt near the graves. Across the street from the mission sits an historic tavern, where witnesses say they have seen several Native looking people in old clothing cross the street and disappear as soon as they enter the courtyard of the mission.

Now, as for my old home, it had changed a bit apparently. But not too much over the years.

Yes, that IS my former home. The one I'd primarily grew up in. And the one that gave me some memorable "moments" that I would much rather forget. There were one too many creeks, bangs, footsteps that were not "living"-made, voices and "gas"-like apparitions for my taste. Especially after seeing my (then two weeks post death) deceased mother walk past me as I glanced up in the hallway's bathroom mirror as I was brushing my teeth. Oh, and did I mention that I was home alone at the time, being that my father was at work already?

OBEs

In 2003, I suffered what is called a "missed" miscarriage. This means that the baby had died (at about 12 weeks gestation), but did not abort its self, which in most cases, happens after an embryo or very early-stage fetus passes from within the womb.

I did not find this out until my 16-week check up. So the baby's remains were just sitting there.

A few days later, I had to succumb to a D&C procedure to extract the baby, as I was getting sick from the toxins that started going in to my system.

Later on that night, after the procedure was done, I just laid there. Mourning for my baby, who I *knew* was to be a boy. I even named him, seeing as I didn't want his "life" (what tiny bit there was of it) to be "meaningless". And after all, he was still MY child. He was still a HUMAN BEING. And I lost not only him, but my future as his mother, and a piece of my heart along with him.

Finally, after some "quiet" crying, I had fallen asleep. Sick to the fact that I had done what no mother would think possible to have to do.

Next thing that I remember, I was in this beautiful wheat field. The sun shone extremely bright. But I was not wearing sunglasses and the light NEVER once bothered my eyes. There was a smell of jasmine in the breeze as it ran through my hair. Then I heard a little boy's voice calling "Mommy! Moooomy!! Over here". As I'd turned around, I knew instinctively it was him. It was my Michael.

We ran to one another. He was about six to nine years of age. We hugged. Then talked a while. Suddenly, he said it was time for him to go. That Grandma (my mom) was waiting for him. Then he told me it's okay and not to feel bad because he was happy and he knows he was loved. He also told me to go ahead and have another baby because he will look out for his little brother or sister.

Then, it was time for him to go. If only you knew just how badly I too wanted to go with him. So many people from my life were where he was returning to. I could feel their love beating down on me. I wasn't one time scared. I was at peace. REAL peace. For perhaps the first time in my life.

But, suddenly, the sun's light got blindingly bright. My breathing got labored and my chest felt extremely heavy as I bolted upright in bed. It was almost like I was having a panic attack.

It was then that I realized that I had separated from my own body, spiritually and had traveled to not Heaven, but somewhere in between there and here. Like a half-way meeting place. Not "Purgatory" per say. I felt the wheat under my finger tips. I could smell the air and the flowers that were carried in from a distance. I felt my son's touch. I could feel the warmth of the sun beating on me...So how could this NOT have been real?

The definition of Out Of Body Experience (OBEs) is defined by Wikipedia as this...

"An out-of-body experience (OBE or sometimes OOBE), is an experience that typically involves a sensation of floating outside of one's body and, in some cases, perceiving one's physical body from a place outside one's body (autoscopy).

The term out-of-body experience was introduced in 1943 by G.N.M Tyrrell in his book Apparitions, and adopted by, for example, Celia Green and Robert Monroe as a bias-free alternative to belief-centric labels such as "astral projection" or "spirit walking". Though the term usefully distances researchers from scientifically problematic concepts such as the soul, scientists still know little about the phenomenon.

Some researchers have managed to recreate OBE in a laboratory setup by stimulating a part in the human brain. One in ten people has an out-of-body experience once or more commonly several times in their life. OBEs are often part of the near-death experience. Those who have experienced OBEs sometimes claim to have observed details which were unknown to them beforehand.

In some cases the phenomenon appears to occur spontaneously; in others it is associated with a physical or mental trauma, use of psychedelic drugs, dissociative drugs, or a dream-like state. Many techniques aiming to induce the experience deliberately have been developed, for example visualization while in a relaxed, meditative state.

Recent (2007) studies have shown that experiences somewhat similar to OBEs can be induced by direct brain stimulation. Some of those who experience OBEs claimed to have willed themselves out of their bodies, while others report having found themselves being pulled from their bodies (usually preceded by a feeling of paralysis). In other accounts, the feeling of being outside the body was suddenly realized after the fact, and the experiencers saw their own bodies almost by accident.

OBEs often occur during the borderline stage between REM sleep and arousal when sleep paralysis may persist and dream imagery may mingle with sensory input.

Some neurologists have suspected that the event is triggered by a mismatch between visual and tactile signals. They used a virtual reality setup to recreate an OBE. The subject looked through goggles and saw his own body as it would appear to an outside observer standing behind him. The experimenter then touched the subject at the same time as a rod appeared to touch the virtual image. The experiment created an illusion of being behind and outside one's body. However, both critics and the experimenter himself note that the study fell short of replicating "full-blown" OBEs."

In a nutshell, I say interpretation and belief in this phenomenon and it's validity. In my mind, you can't really get the true nature of this paranormal experience in it's raw definition unless you yourself experience it. I know that I indeed believe in Out of Body Experiences (OBEs). Mainly because I know after really thinking back, I have had this happen to me at least three times in the past. With the loss of my baby. With the loss of the grandmother who raised me after my mother's passing. And my mother herself.

Miracles

Miracles... They happen everyday according to those that believe in them. Primarily by those of the Christian faith.

I myself am a Christian. But I don't go to church or fall to my knees in prayer at the drop of a hat for every little thing. I also question the Bible and it's texts. But that is all for another post, on another day, in a different blogging area. Not for here.

Let's get back to the original topic of this post. Miracles.

Miracles are from the hand of God. They can occure in subtle ways, or "larger than life" ways.

For all technological and medical purposes (of the late 70's era) I should NOT have lived past my first twenty four hours after my birth. I'd had so many problems at birth, that they even told my father that I would *most likely not* live long enough to even make it by air to another hospital that was waiting on my for life-saving surgery, let alone make it through the surgery its self. Or the first few days after that.

But here I am standing today. Thirty four years later. Walking, talking, I have had kids (biologically), I can eat and drink independently. I am doing EVERYTHING that the doctors and "Specialists" all claimed I would *NEVER* do in my "short" life.

Most would say that it is all a miracle. I pulled off the impossible (for their time of technological and medical knowledge) and was deemed a "miracle child" that was placed in medical magazines, medical journals and dictionaries, and featured in news papers.

"Miracle" is defined by Wikipedia as this..

"A miracle is an unexpected event attributed to divine intervention. Sometimes an event is also attributed (in part) to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that God may work with the laws of nature to perform what people perceive as miracles. Theologians say that, with divine providence, God regularly works through created nature yet is free to work without, above, or against it as well.

A miracle is often considered a fortuitous event: compare with an Act of God.

In casual usage, "miracle" may also refer to any statistically unlikely but beneficial event, (such as surviving a natural disaster), or simply a "wonderful" occurrence, regardless of likelihood, such as a birth. Other miracles might be: survival of a terminal illness, escaping a life threatening situation or 'beating the odds.' Some coincidences may be perceived to be miracles."

Now would I consider having my children as miracles? Yes, indeed. Seeing as honestly, my overall health was in jeopardy with each pregnancy (five of them that resulted in three babies). Also add in the fact that my chances were even more greatly slimmed by the fact I have a severe case of Ovarian Cystitis, mainly on one side, but both have them. So really, I should not have even gotten pregnant in the first place, let alone five times (where I lost two of them).

Would I attribute my survival to God performing a miracle? Yes... And no. God, I feel decided my overall fate (seeing as my heart stopped about four times during my 18-hour surgery as a newborn). But it was the doctors and nurses who treated me during the surgery and at birth that used all of their medical skills and knowledge to repair the damage within my body.

Do I feel that those in a career of religion (clergy, priests) have the "right" to deem/state that something that happened to a parishioner of their church outright a "miracle"? No. I feel that this kind of decision is a PERSONAL-based decision between you and God/Jesus Christ.

Do YOU believe in miracles? Why or why not?

Has something you feel is "miraculous" in your life happened? Feel free to share it.

Two Times In Two Weeks..

Strange. For being (for the most part) a skeptic, he certainly is having a time of explaining away the last couple weeks of instances.

My husband is kind of like an Agnostic. He can't prove that God exists, nor can he prove that God doesn't exist. And he won't completely deny His existence. But is on the fence about the existence of God.

Same thing concerning my husband in regards to ghosts/spirits and paranormal activity. Yes, he DOES believe that there are other life forms (aliens) outside our universe and that it's a real possibility that they have visited our orbit. But the notion that there are some people that still "hang around" after this life is over is a bit of a hard pill to swallow for him.

Whereas for me, the subject of ghostly paranormal things is a no brainer. Ghosts/spirits DO exist, and yes, I believe that there is something beyond THIS life in our shells.

For many years, the subject of ghosts was a bit of a battle ground between the two of us. But after experiencing a few times what had happened for those first three weeks that I ever left him and the kids on their own to tend to family matters across the country, that battle ground seemingly got a bit smaller. And over the years, smaller than that.

So, in the last couple of weeks, including last night, it got even tinier. Though, with him, there will always be doubt I think, until something drastic happens (apparitions). Last week, I had told of his hearing what sounded like a pencil being rolled playfully by someone in the attic. To read about it, CLICK HERE.

That time, even though myself, the kids, and my husband were all either in the living room or the dining room (seeing as it was dinner time), it was only my husband that had heard the sounds coming from the attic, which spans the entire length of our home.

Last night, the kids were all asleep. And one cat was sleeping with the girls, while the other was not even in our room at the time of the occurrence. We heard no one (kid or cat) come down the stairs.

Out of the blue, my husband gets really still and he is obviously startled. Then, he asked me if I hear any wind outside our bedroom window. Nope. Still as can be. He claimed he saw the light that comes from the security light in the backyard brighten and dim as if someone or something was walking back and forth. But no apparent shape (human or animal).

Then, he bolted his upper body (waist and up) from the bed a bit, but not in a fully sitting position to look towards the foot of the bed. This is when he asked me if I felt "that". I asked him what THAT was. He claimed he felt someone was sitting on the bed, and even poking at his foot area. Seemingly by his description, in a playful manner.

Oddly, nothing that HE experienced did I notice, feel or see. It was as if whomever or whatever it was, only wanted my husband to notice them for whatever reason. And normally (then again who said that myself, this family or this house was normal??) it is me that gets all the crazy, weird things happening, without any others in the house seeing/hearing/feeling it at the time.

With what is happening upstairs, the experience from last night, and by other things that I have seen myself as of late, it is looking to be very much a child-like haunting behavior. He or she isn't trying to scare us. But they ARE trying to be playful, get noticed and are very observant of the happenings within the house. Especially with my basement stairs...

Two Experiences/Encounters and an Award.

First of all, I shall thank the Academy for this prestigious...Oh wait, wrong award. My bad! Seriously though, I have been bestowed my FIRST EVER award for my ParanorMel blog. It's nice to have it recognized, even though my follower base is under twenty. But who's counting?

I have been given the Paranormal Community Leadership Award by Jessica Penot over at GHOST STORIES & HAUNTED PLACES where Jessica blogs about different places, buildings and homes that are (supposedly) haunted. I highly suggest you give her blog a look-see for yourself. You will NOT be disappointed. I guarantee it.

Thank you SO much, Jessica!  But other than you, I have no other bloggers to pass this along to that have not already received it, seeing as I cannot find many good blogs of Paranormal interest. If you know of any, shoot them my way, would ya?

Now, on to the next...As Jason and Grant from Ghost Hunters (which I missed last night, due to crashing from exhaustion last night) like to say at the end of every episode.

On November ninth (I wrote about this the next day on ParanorMel's "Like page over on FaceBook) my husband made all of us go eerily quiet. He heard something coming from the attic. After seeing that all three cats were downstairs or outside, and all of us humans were accounted for, he KNEW it was not a sound that was man or animal made. Especially seeing as the windows were worked on last year to no longer be opened or to let drafts in.

After he mentally figured out what was going on, then my husband finally admitted to me that it was NOT the first time that he had happened upon the sound. Mainly made during the three to five o'clock hours of the very early morning, before he leaves for his differing shifts at work.

Strangely though, this apparent reoccurrence was never even heard by myself or the kids when it happened as we sat at the dinner table. Only my husband had heard the sound. Then he went in to explaining about it and he grabbed a pencil. He started to move it back and forth in a playful manner. The wood could be heard rolling as it went between his fingers.

This is when I admitted about sometimes hearing the footsteps outside the bathroom, in the main upper hallway as I shower, with no other people in the house. And I also admitted to seeing once again, the little boy of about my son's age, and my oldest daughter's height standing the basement foyer's landing.

Now, for the most recent thing to happen to me.. And it was just this past Tuesday.

For the first time ever, since being in the area of  Central Virginia, I had gone to Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest. You can take pictures of the outside grounds and in the discovery rooms. But there are no pictures allowed to be taken within the retreat home. If you wish to take a gander at the inside of the mansion and learn more about Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest retreat, CLICK HERE.

All was well and good with me. That is, until our first stop for within the home was the basement. The wine cellar was also located down there. You can no longer go down in to it, seeing as the stairs had long rotted away and had to be removed. But the original brick is still on its floor, though it is pulling up and the bricks also have now started to rot.

Looking at the old Wine Cellar, I got struck with a "feeling". A feeling of being watched. I knew then, that on this Fifth Grade trip, we were not alone with the Tour Guide that was appointed to us. Even looking across the way, to the other side of the basement, it felt uneasy. I didn't SEE anyone or anything. But I could certainly tell that the energy was static-like. We were being watched. By whom, I cannot say.

Was it by Thomas Jefferson himself? Or could it have been Or could it have been Hannah? She was one of Jefferson's most devout slaves of their time. It could have possibly been even James, who was the "overseer" to the fellow slaves, who was entrusted as the headmaster above the other slaves of the Plantation.

While I cannot say for sure, all I know is that I felt that "someone" was keeping a close eye upon me, the children that were in our class and watching that the homestead was not being abused in any way that would tarnish the look and feel of Poplar Forest.

The Voice That Wasn't His.

Normally, I do no more than one post in the blog, per day that I decide to write. But being that this had happened last night, and it's not something that I normally have happen, I just *had to* write this down for my readers to read about...


Last night, I had heard, and even answered a voice. Whom I thought at the time was my husband speaking to me.


I thought it was my husband saying from the living room, "Hey! Come here a minute." as I stood two rooms away, washing a few dishes in the kitchen. When in fact, it was *NOT* my husband at all!


After finishing the dishes that I was working on, I had sat in the chair next to him as he sat here at the computer, and proceeded to ask him what he wanted, being he DID request for me to "come here", thinking he wanted to show me something.


He looked at me strange and then out-right told me he did *NOT* call for me in any way.

And I know it was *NOT* one of the kids. This was a MAN'S voice. An adult male. Not a child.

I told him that I knew for a FACT, I did *not* imagine what I heard. And it sounded (obviously) just like my husband calling for me.

Strange...


After the incident, I just shook my head, and then proceeded to brush it off and continued with the rest of my evening.


That is, until I noticed out of my (bad) eye, what looked like a young man who was proceeding to climb my stairs.

 

 

 

 

Guest Writer, Sarah... An eye-opening experience.

I've known Sarah for quite a while. We "met" online via a site for mothers. We hit it off pretty instantaneously on different levels where motherhood is concerned.

Both of us are believers of the Paranormal. We both have some degree of psychic ability. But when it comes to personal experiences, I beat her out in about oh... ten or so miles (laughs).

The following is Sarah's account of her very first personal experience with the Other Side. Even though she has felt things, and maybe even heard some things, she had NEVER, up until this point (quite recently) experienced anything visually.

Mind you as well, this is a new place (for her and her young daughter), in which they just moved in to.

Sarah's story...

So late last night I am in my room we have recently moved into a new apartment. Two bed room in a nice building with only four apartments in each unit. It has to parts to it so eight units in the total building. The building its self was developed and put up in the 70's. The location is ten minutes away from down town Madison Wi. It is in a residential neighborhood.

I am a paranormal investigator myself. I stay up late doing research on the paranormal. I am not scared of the dark and never have been. I grew up next to a cemetery dead things do not scare me. I am a psychic intuitive amongst other things that is something I hold very close to my being. I do not tell a ton of people when I first meet them. I do not have full power because I have not learned to use it in the right way.

I wake up in the middle of the night because I hear a sound. Not just any sound but the sound of a creaking door. What do I see yes I see the door open a jar right in front of me. Hear the footsteps very soft but clear as day even if it is in the middle of the night.

Remember nothing really scares me I have had things moved on me but never in front of my eyes. So I had the hair's on the back of my arms stand up. I felt creepy and short of breath all signs of a sprit being present.

No my apartment is not leaning to one side that would explain it no it was not my child she was sleeping in her bed.

I always tell my readers it is up to you to make up your mind about the paranormal. I will not try to convince you there is more. I will only tell you that there something we cannot see feel or touch and there is always a chance of catching it in action you just have to know how to look for it and what to look for.

sarah skloot ©2010

 

Animals..Do they live on after death?

It has been an on-going argument for years and years. And it is one filled with mystery and intrigue.

Can animals come back in spirit form? Do animals indeed, as people do, have a soul or an after-death, beyond-this-realm-living energy?

Many people, right off the bat will say no. But why not? God supposedly gave us souls, created us in His image and made it possible to live on in spirit-form after our earthly time was done. Why can the same *not* be said of our animal counterparts?

They breath, feel pain, mate, love others of their species (in some instances, mostly it's getting together to reproduce and ensure the species) and they die. Pretty much as we humans do! 

I have had many cats and a couple of dogs in my time so far. One cat that stands out the most is Tuffy, who meandered on to our porch when I was about six years old. She had apparently been abused, starved, and had her tail slammed in to a door. And she was a "teenager" when we first took her in.

When I was thirteen, and in the first Spring after my mother's passing in 1989, Tuffy had started having many 'bathroom problems'. After taking her to the vet myself via my BFF's mom, I had to make the heartbreaking choice to have Tuffy put down. She was in kidney and renal failure. I did it even though it killed me inside.

A few months later though, sometimes I would see, from the corner of my eye, a gray/white streak go by, or even hear closely what sounded like a meow of a cat. Just a nip type meow. Short and sweet. I often wondered if Tuffy came to visit the heart-broken child that felt horrible guilt over "killing her mom's cat".

Now within this home, once in a while, knowing all three of my kitties are outside, or even upstairs, I will catch a very quick glimpse of a black and white cat. Yes, I do indeed have one that fits the description and goes by "Shadow".

But most of the time, I see this 'cat' from the corner of my eye, as it comes off the landing of the stairs and meanders over to where the basement door is. Only, I hear not a single paw hitting the stairs, which are hallow and make noise as any of the cats (that are alive and kicking) come down those steps.

No sooner that I turn my head, the ghostly feline is not in my sight. And when I go over to the basement's foyer, there is no cat in sight!

This truly does lead me to believe, at least personally, that indeed, animals of all types, not just domesticated animals, have a soul, too. And they can be here in the spiritual form for reasons only known to them. For them, like us, death is not the end of the road. They too travel to another realm where their energy lives on beyond this life.

Take a gander at the following video. Keep an eye on the family's television set. Is this a capturing of a real 'ghost cat'? Or the wonderful (and misguided, as usual) use of today's camera technology to make people THINK that they are seeing a kitty in spirit form? YOU be the judge...

Choking Game.. Ghost Style.

Last night, I went to sleep not long after midnight. I was tired, to say the least. Everything was right in my world. I had my wonderful husband snuggled beside me as we lulled off to dreamland.

Not long after 3 AM I had shot up in bed. I am not the type to do this. In fact, I am a very sound sleeper.

But last night, around 3:20, I woke to feel like I was about to literally faint. And the back of tongue, as well as a part of my throat went completely numb and tingly. It felt as if someone was cutting off my airway. I was being choked!

Never have I had something remotely like this ever happen to me. I never felt hands wrapped around my throat. But INSIDE, I felt like I was suffocating.

As soon as I bolted upright in the bed, the tingling and the numbness started to subside. As was the feeling of wanting to pass out.

Of course, this made my husband also bolt straight up and get worried. He asked what was wrong and if I was alright. I played it off and said I was, and that I must have had a bad dream.

Because he too knows that this is VERY out of character for me, where sleeping is concerned.

Now, is this something that is 'paranormal'? I do not honestly know. Maybe it is something medical.

But maybe, it could even be BOTH?

I cannot say for sure either way at this point in time. But I can say that I was more scared than I have been since the last physical encounter, which was a week after we moved in here. If you wish to know more about that experience, then please READ HERE.

If anyone that reads this can shed more light on what I went through, be it medical and/or paranormal, I am all ears (or is that eyes??). I'm flabbergasted.

Phantom Calls

Actually, I wasn't planning on writing on this blog page today. But, something happened a while ago that I just HAD TO write it down.

It was eerie. But fascinating. It was shocking, but in a way, calming. It was even a tab bit funny. That is, after said shock wore off.

I'd been talking to my father, long distance this morning. Almost three thousand miles space us apart.

Nearing the end of our conversation, after he told me of something strange happening, concerning his coffee pot, we got to talking about a package he is supposed to send my kids. Mainly to the oldest of my three in the brood.

At one point, he said he was still looking for...and stammered a bit, trying to think of the word he was trying to say to describe what he was speaking of.

Suddenly, for one split second in time, I heard a voice that was NOT of a male, and was sounding off in the distance, like they were trying to yell, as to be heard. Clearly, it was a female tone.

It said, quite plainly, mind you, "DVD!", just as my father thought of the word and spoken it himself.

At first I was in shock and awe. Especially knowing that he had the experience he did this morning, concerning coffee missing from the pot, in which he knew before hand was there, until he went for the next cup of 'joe'.

No sooner that 'both of them' had spoken, I blurted out that my dad's voice DRASTICALLY changed to more of a female's tone. That's when it hit me, he was NOT talking. SHE was! It's as if she was trying to tell him what he meant, and trying to make me know that he was speaking of a DVD he wanted to find.

Never have I had a phantom call in my life. Nor have I ever had known of an ethereal listener, either. It was a tad unnerving, to say the least.

After experiencing this lady telling me what I was to be told before my dad could blurt it out for himself, I did a little digging.

HERE IS WHAT I GOT FROM AN ARTICLE...

Strange, huh? It was a bit exhilarating to have this happen. Surprising, none the least, of course. But filled with excitement to have happen as well.

And the voice was not sounding like it was right there with us. It sounded distanced, and like it had to practically yell to be heard. It wasn't angry or sad. Just letting me know that my dad was trying to get out 'DVD'.

Was it my deceased grandmother, who's ashes are on the way here to my home? Or could it maybe have been my mother? Though, the voice didn't sound like either of them, really.

Weird!

Poltergeists. It's not like in the movies!

You may have heard of, or have even seen the early 1980's movie, 'Poltergeist'. It revolves around a little girl named Carol Ann, who comes in to contact with an evil entity. This "man" reeks havoc among the girl and her family. The classic, and very well-known, timeless line is... "They're heeeeeere!", as Carol Ann sits in front of the family's television set.

A 'poltergeist' is what is also known as a "noisy ghost". Actually that is what the name is derived from, which is a German definition.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poltergeist

"About this sound Poltergeist (from German poltern, meaning "to rumble", "to make a noise" and Geist, meaning "ghost" or "spirit") is in mythology and folklore a ghost, spirit, entity, demonic spirit or being that manifests itself by creating noise or moving objects."

For the most part, Poltergeist Ghosts are not harmful. They move things, hide things and make noises to be heard and to communicate. Not to physically hurt you. Most cases are generally 'normal' and the people affected are not harmed.

Personally, I have had this sort of thing happen when I was a teenager. Though, it did not happen to me personally, the whole family unit was affected.

My grandma (Nana) had this one pair of reading glasses. She normally sat them beside her favorite chair, where she could read under the lamp light.

One day, she was looking for them and asked me to hunt them down. Of course I looked EVERYWHERE. I scoured the place top to bottom. As did my father and my step-mother.

For three solid WEEKS, we all looked for the reading glasses. To no avail. Of course, I got pegged for hiding them out of spite. At the time, Nana didn't believe that there was ghostly activity, and as a hard-core Catholic, vehemently stated that ghosts are of the devil's work.

We looked ALL over, high and low. Even in places that we should not have had to look in. Then, my step-mother struck gold! She found the glasses. But in the most unusual of places. It made all of our jaws drop. And made my Nana (finally) a believer.

My step-mom opened the china cabinet (as she did EVERY night for the last three weeks and before) to get the dishes out for dinnertime. Sitting there on the GOOD set of dishes, was my grandmother's reading glasses. Right there in plain sight. And they just "magically" appeared there.

There are other instances of hearing footsteps and things moving, and even voice activity that I alone have experienced. But that one really stood out to me. And the list is just too freaking long to talk about in one post (LOL).

Here is a book Author that I *highly* recommend to read. Including this book, out of the many he has written about all types of ghostly hauntings.

Here is a video of what types of Poltergeist activities CAN occur. All cases are extremely different. It is also has Ed and Loraine Warren (who are now both deceased), who are highly recommended and knowledgeable Demonologists. Some of what you are about to see, WILL shock you and make you think.

Skidding on the floor. Nic Cage style.

It will be four years since we moved in to our current home, at the end of August.

At that time, the kids were starting school that week, as we were moving things from one place to the other. Before us, my brother-in-law and his brood lived here. And before them, it was their parent's rented residence.

Needless to say, it's jokingly become a "family tradition" that someone in the immediate family lives in this house.

While my husband's parents were here, I always felt a bit 'uneased' downstairs, in the basement. And it was set up pretty much then, how we have it now. Our bedroom is down there in the addition (kids are upstairs in the two actual bedrooms), our family area, and the kid's play area (which was then the sewing area for my mother-in-law).

From the moment the house became "ours", I felt something was off. But not just in the basement any longer. It extended in to the attic and even the main portion of the house. Primarily my son's room (that was the "junk room" when my in-law's had the place).

For the life of me, I couldn't place my finger on why I had these feelings of dread, only to have my son almost immediately after moving in, tell me that he saw the "Bearded Man" that looked like he was from "a long time ago".

Every so often, either myself or my son would hear what sounded like footsteps in the attic. Both day and night. And even to this day, I feel "watched" if I'm up there, with or without someone being with me.

Less than a week after shipping our boxes to our new home, I was seriously hurt. All the times over the years I had gone up and down those steps that led to the basement, never once did I take a tumble. That is, until THAT day.

My kids were on their way home from their first full week at their new school. At this point, I still had my youngest daughter home with me, being she was too young for Pre-K.

Of course, for security reasons, and to keep the wee one from slipping out the door, I kept the basement door locked tight. But I would go down to unlock it so the kids could come in from the school bus.

With Skyler watching TV (back then upstairs in the living room), I proceeded to start my decent down to the basement.

No more than three steps down, I felt like I had been shoved. I clearly felt what seemed to be like a hand on my back. Down I went the rest of the way on those stairs.

I literally rolled down. Not in a "tumbling" manner, or on my butt. If I had slipped, I would have fell on to my tail and backwards. Not go forwards, face-first and in a rolling motion (like tumbling in gym).

But I didn't stop there.

No sooner that I hit (and I mean HARD) the landing to the steps, I literally flew off. Only to skid across my carpeted basement floor. As if someone kicked me off of the bottom portion of the staircase.

If you have ever seen 'Ghost Rider', with Nicolas Cage (which is one of my favorite movies of his!), you will know what I'm talking about with the "skidding" on the floor. When 'Johnny Blaze' (Nic's character) is thrown from his now-alive motorcycle, on to the pavement of the Police Station's towing area, he skids across the cement a good number of feet before stopping and his hands start catching fire to begin transforming in to 'Ghost Rider' for the first time.

To put it basically, I was 'Johnny Blaze' for a brief moment in time. Only I had shag carpet, on top of cement flooring under my belly.

After being drug by some unforeseeable force of gravitational pull towards the basement door, I stopped short of getting my face slammed in to it. Only to pull myself up, via the doorknob and unlock both locks right as the kids were pulling up on the school bus.

For three or four days after the incident, I was so very sore. I had a few bruises, a scratch, I had muscle aches EVERYWHERE. I felt like I got ran over, then back-up on, only to be hit again. And when I told my husband about it, he (the skeptic he is, but not as bad now, as back then) said that I must have tripped over myself. Or that I slipped on a step.

But, even if I did either of those things, as my husband felt that I must have, I should NEVER have had any of the above happen.

And never again have I endured another experience in this home on those stairs as I had done that day. And it is a day, as well as an experience I will NEVER forget.